Forever and Always
by dauntlesslydemigod
Summary: His eyes bugged out of his head as he took in her dress, the way it clung to her. "You - You're going where?" He asked, his voice a lot hoarser than he thought it would be. "The club." She said innocently. "It's a birthday party." When Draco refuses to act upon his feeling for Hermione, she has to take drastic measures. Measures including a sexy red dress and bare legs.


"Draco!" Hermione waved at him cheerfully, her heart sinking when he replied with a mere nod of his head. Stopping a sigh from escaping her lips, she kept the bag down on the seat next to him.  
"Hey." She smiled brightly at him, but he didn't even look up. "How was the weekend?" He shrugged slightly, his head bent over the assignment he was working on. "Good."  
Hermione felt a pang in her heart as she slumped down in her seat, defeated.

 _He doesn't want to speak to you, Granger. Why don't you leave him alone?_ A tiny voice spoke inside her head. _Because you want to know what happened._ A lower, more persistent voice replied.

After completing their seventh year at Hogwarts, Draco had felt the need to take a break from the wizarding world. _It's the stares_ , he had told Hermione later. _They don't want to see me as Draco; I'll always be a Malfoy for them._

He had come to her house one day, shocking her and her parents beyond measure. He wanted to take up higher studies in a muggle college, and Hermione was the only one who could help him get used to Muggle ways of living.

She wasn't sure about the idea at first; he was _Malfoy_ , after all. That bloody prat who made their lives hell. But then, she looked at him carefully, and realized that the war had changed him more than the others had noticed.

His eyes were still a sparkling, clear shade of silver, but the spite in them had disappeared. Instead, a cold, desolate look haunted them, almost as if he didn't know who he was. His posture was as stiff and royal as before, but the arrogance seemed to have been replaced with defensive vulnerability.

But above all, it was the raw pain in his voice when he apologized to her. _I know that no apology can amend for all that shit I made you go through all those years, Granger. Hell, I don't deserve your apology. But I – I know that you see the good in people when no one else does, which is why I'm here._ And in that moment, she had seen in his eyes that he meant it.

And so, in a moment of severe doubt, she had agreed to help him. Maybe it was because of the way her trust had been shattered by Ron, or because she had realized that people change over time, but she decided to give her childhood enemy a chance. It was later that she realized that she taken the best decision of her life.

She helped Draco enroll for a course in the college she herself had sent an application for, and helped him study. She also taught him the muggle way of life, and the thought made a wry smile creep onto her lips.

 _What do you mean, take a bus? I'll have to sit on a moving chair for fifteen minutes to get to a bloody supermarket?_ and _Holy Merlin. What do you call this amazing thing, a pen? I don't even have to dip it in an inkpot! Holy shit. I'll gift one to Blaise when I go back. He'll go fucking nuts._

Once they both got selected, she made sure she was with him in almost every class. As much as he had changed, he still had a flaring temper. Gods forbid, him changing a student into a ferret would lead to – uncomfortable circumstances.

And so, as the days progressed, Hermione realized that Draco had not changed at all; he had just made himself into a prat back then to hide himself from everything that hurt him: His parents, his family, his history.

The relationship that had struck between them was more than friendship, and Hermione grew conscious of the fact day by day. Casual touches by him made her shiver, and she no longer felt her heart pang when Harry spoke to her about Ron.

Everything seemed to be going perfect. And then one day, something changed.

It wasn't sudden, but she noticed it immediately. The way his smiles seemed to be forced, the way his animated speech shortened to one word replies, the way he avoided her after classes.

At first, she thought that something was wrong at his home, but after some hidden inquiries through her contacts at the ministry, it was revealed that everything was fine.  
A sickening possibility was that he had fallen for some other girl, but she highly doubted it. He stayed at her house and never stepped out of his room until it was absolutely necessary, and didn't speak to anyone except from Hermione in college.

Which brought her back to the present as she glared at his bent platinum blonde head. _Why aren't you talking to me?_ She screamed at him mentally.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't hottie hermie."

A slow, drawling voice made her groan before she looked up. "What is it, Gray?" She spoke through gritted teeth. The tall, dark haired guy smirked at her before stepping closer to her chair. "Come on, darlin'. One coffee, and I ain't bothering you no more." He leaned slightly closer to her, and she automatically shifted backwards.

"It's _won't_ , not ain't. Go and get a primary school grammar book from your dad, and then we'll talk." She snorted. She turned to pull out the books from her bag, freezing when she felt his hand on her cheek. "Aww babe. Don't play hard to get, now. Imma real good in bed, if not with English."

Warning bells rang in her head as she contained herself from pulling out her wand hidden in her stocking and turn him into a snail. _Easy, girl._ She breathed, closing her eyes.

Before she could tell Gray what exactly she thought of him, a cool hand on her shoulder made her look up. She gasped when her eyes met his, making her heart flutter in her chest.  
Draco's eyes were blazing with anger, his jaw tense and features immobile. She had never seen him this mad, and felt an involuntary shiver pass through her.

"Get aside, Hermione."

His tone left no space for argument as she mutely got up from her seat and watched him tower over Gray. His hands were clenched tightly into fists by his side, and she could see Gray's smirk falter as he took a step backwards.

" _Try_ to touch her again, and I'll rip your arm off." Draco said, his voice dangerously low. "And the next time I see you getting close to her, I'll forget that this is a college."  
He smiled suddenly, but there was no humor in it. If possible, it seemed to make him seem even more intimidating. Reaching up, he smoothed down Gray's shirt. "Am I clear?"  
His silver eyes seemed to challenge Gray to try and do something, so that he could show him that his hands weren't good at just writing notes.

After a long stare contest, Gray took an unsteady step backwards. "Easy there, man." He muttered before he turned and walked away.

Draco stared after him before closing his eyes, taking a long, deep breath. He knew he shouldn't have done this, but he couldn't stop himself. That git had dared to lay his hand on her.

"Draco?" Hermione touched his forearm, feeling the tense muscles underneath her hand. "Thank you." She would've told him that she didn't need his help, but his reaction had touched her enough to stay shut. There was something, almost – nice about it. That feeling of being wanted.

He turned to her, and his eyes burned into hers. There was something about the intensity of his gaze, the fire in them that made Hermione's heart soar. Suddenly, he reached out, his cold hand tracing her cheek. His thumb ran gently along her bridge of her cheekbone, as if he was memorizing her. His eyes softened, and for the one moment, Hermione was sure as to what she saw in them: Love.

But just as abruptly the moment had begun, it ended. He pulled away as if her skin was on fire, mumbling something as he went to his seat, not looking at her till the end of the class.  
But Hermione couldn't stop the grin that she could feel forming on her lips. Draco had feelings for her, she was sure. She had seen it. For some absurd reason, he wasn't acting on them.

She now had a plan. She knew exactly what she was going to do.  
Draco Malfoy was in for a shock.

 **Hey guys! This story is a two shot, so don't expect many details. I'll put up the second part as soon as possible, so PLEASE REVIEW!**


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